It is well known that insects are a nuisance both indoors and out. They may also be a health risk. They can especially be a problem where potted plants are displayed indoors. Often, insects or eggs will be brought into the house with a new plant or in potting soil for an existing plant.
Many methods of eliminating insects have been developed. Electric "bug zappers" are among the most recent approaches and include the use of light to attract the insects. Fly paper and other adhesive traps, such as rigid strips, are a more traditional solution. The adhesive traps offer the advantages of not requiring power and they can be placed almost anywhere. However, most of the adhesive traps are coated with adhesive on all sides. While maximizing the area available for trapping insects, this feature makes them messy to handle and difficult to dispose of without touching the dead insects which are stuck to the trap. Further, the traps must be suspended when in use to prevent them from sticking to a supporting surface. These suspended traps may become entangled in plants, curtains, and even the hair of passers-by. A side effect of this is that a relatively large space must be set aside around the trap, which limits the areas in which the trap can be deployed. This approach is almost universal, however, because of the large the surface area available for trapping insects.
Another drawback to the existing adhesive traps is that they are unattractive. Adhesive coated on all sides, and often colored bright yellow, they are obviously insect traps even when new. This may carry an undesired stigma because they imply that the house has a "bug problem." The appearance and impact worsens as they become coated with dead insects which are trapped.
There is a need for small, compact adhesive insect trap which is attractive and can be deployed without hanging. Ideally, the trap would be self standing while offering the option of hanging. In appearance it should not obviously be an insect trap. Insects captured by the trap should be hidden from view from a range of viewing directions. It should be possible to remove the trap from its package and set it up without contacting the adhesive. After the trap is full, or no longer needed, it should be possible to pick up the trap and dispose of it without coming into contact with either the adhesive or the trapped insects. Further, the trap should require minimal packaging as sold and should be inexpensive to make and generate minimal waste during manufacture.